13 Celebrities who’ve gone to prison

Celebrities are often people that others look up to. People that inspire us, entertain us and wow us with their talent. But even the brightest of stars sometimes fall.

There’s a rather sizable amount of famous people who have done hard time in the big house. Some of them seem so squeaky clean now, we still can’t believe they ever did anything wrong.

Whatever the crime committed, this list serves as a great reminder that celebrities are real people, just like us, and that they fall on hard times and sometimes make bad decisions like normal human beings.

1. Teresa and Joe Giudice

Image: Joel Ginsburg/WENN.com

The Giudices have taken a lot of heat lately, since the two weren’t exactly transparent about their finances and made themselves seem more well-off than they really are. The RealHousewives of New Jersey duo pleaded guilty last year to multiple counts of fraud, tax evasion and bankruptcy fraud charges. Teresa began her 15-month sentence on Monday and Joe will begin his 41-month term once his wife is released.

3. Chris Brown

Image: Judy Eddy/WENN.com

Brown was sentenced to 131 days in prison after being kicked out of court-appointed rehab for violating his probation for assaulting Rihanna by assaulting a man outside a hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2013. He was released in June 2014, after serving just three weeks of his term. He’s kept himself busy since by partying and being offensive.

4. Lauryn Hill

5. Amber Portwood

In June 2012, the Teen Mom star was sentenced to five years in prison after violating probation stemming from felony drug possession charges in 2011. She served a little over a year of the term and was released early in November 2013. Portwood seems to be doing well since her release, but recently suffered the loss of her father, who she says was instrumental in her recovery.

7. Wesley Snipes

The action star spent three years behind bars after being convicted in February 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal tax returns. He didn’t report to federal prison until December 2010 and he was released in April 2013. Since then, Snipes has kept himself busy acting and appeared as Doc in The Expendables 3.

8. T.I.

The rapper was sentenced to 11 months in prison in October 2010 for breaking federal probation after he was arrested in LA on drug charges. He was released in September 2011 and then did a short stint at a halfway house. He previously served seven months in an Arkansas prison in 2009 after being arrested for trying to buy unregistered guns and silencers from undercover federal agents. T.I. has stayed on the down-low — legally, anyway — since his release, but has sparked beef with everyone from Tracy Morgan to Azalea Banks since.

9. Phil Spector

Spector, who was sentenced in 2009 for the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003, is currently serving 19 years to life in a California prison. Recently released photos of the music mogul have revealed that the clink may be transforming him into Gollum.

11. Tim Allen

Before Allen became everybody’s favorite dad on Home Improvement, he was arrested in 1978 for trafficking cocaine. Though he faced life in prison, he served only five years for giving up the names of 21 people he had worked with in the drug trade. Allen never looked back and has most recently starred as Mike Baxter in the ABC comedy Last Man Standing.

12. Robert Downey Jr.

RDJ battled some major demons before becoming Iron Man. In 1999, he was sentenced to three years in prison after numerous incidents involving drug arrests and failure to comply with the courts. In August 2000, he was released early after spending just about a year behind bars. He dabbled with cocaine after his release, but in 2005, put his turbulent past behind him to start a family and become the amazing actor we know him as now.

13. Mark Wahlberg

The artist formerly known as Marky Mark was arrested in 1988 for assaulting a man named Johnny Trinh. Wahlberg was charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance and served 45 days of a 90-day sentence at Deer Island House of Correction. He has recently petitioned to have the event stricken from his record and Trinh has publicly said that he forgives Wahlberg for the incident. Wahlberg was 16 years old when he committed the crime, but now we know him as the man behind Entourage.